Futuring

"If everybody skied, there would be no wars." According to Warren Miller, Hannes Schneider said that in 1919, after WWI.

It's an interesting idea, rhetorical though it is.

As we begin to break out the new calendar, I worry about the future of snow sports, especially in the light of Schneider's suggestion that the future of the world depends to some extent on snow sports.

In that light, I thought it might be fun and interesting to make some predictions about the future of snowsports. Both dire and rosy predictions are fair game. Have some fun with it: get way out there or play it safe, I just want your input. You can take exception to people's predictions too: I'd hope we'd end up with a list of serious future scenarios. Let's set it up as:

In 2015, the world of snow sports will be as follows:

(I have a few to get us started)

There are three conglomerates operating 80% of the lift-served terrain in the U.S. These are: Disney, AOL-TimeWarner, and IntraWest.

The number of ski areas/resorts has been halved from 503 in 2001 to 250 in 2015. Most of the fatalities occurred among the non-conglomerate 20%.

The proportion of skiers to snowboarders is approximately equal, with 20% crossing at least one boundary from snowboard to alpine to telly to touring.

How about 2050 AD?
Travel to Mars on a ski trip!Beware of green huge-eyed native skiers! They cannot be distinguished in the snow, because they wear their own natural outfit and the artificial light on the slope is green.So try the latest infrared "Head" ski glasses, made in The United States of Afghanistan, for the small price of 1000 Eurodollars.
Try our new weather controlled network of ski slopes, choose the one that suits you best for a small fee of 500 credit points, each choice.
We ve got them all: Powdered, Normal, Icey (for the crazy and the excentric), wind blown, heavy snowed, sun-bathed-( if you afford the luxury of feeling like back on Earth when there were still ski resorts there and not just mountains of garbage).
Feel free to use our ski simulators (and other kinds

Hmmm not sure how the first statement re: war involves "futuring" but.....

Didn't allied soldiers ski into enemy territory during WWII? What does that say about skiing and no war?

Seems skiing has been used to aid war.

I'm not going to predict anything - no crystal balls here. Seems everytime we dream up something it's never what you think. Look at all the space movies from the 50's and 60's. According to them we should all be going to work in flying saucers and wearing mylar suits.

No, I think as long as Earth is here and there is snow on it ppl will continue to enjoy it.

no new areas will be created, so what we have now is probably the top number of ski areas that will ever be in the U.S.. the number of ski areas can only go down unless abandoned areas are brought back from the dead. it's hard enough for existing resorts to cut a single new trail, never mind a mountain side of them.

bringing me to: red tape will continue to get tougher to fight. from new trails, to lifts, to water supply, to access roads, etc. the government will continue to chook an industry that supplies some states with it's main money source (not that i'm against protecting resources, but geez... just look at the loon situation and what a waste is going on there).

the boarder/skiier friction will subside as people begin to relize the problem really is upstart youth umbracing only the parts of the sport that they enjoy and not embracing respect and friendliness on the slopes. maybe elder boarders will learn these things and instill them in their younger counter parts.

now that boarding isn't so new, and "everybody's doing it," skiing is going to become en vouge again... especially with the twin-tip, off-piste, nu-skool infusion happening.

By 2050, insurance companies will finally recognize that recreation is detrimental to the health of most 300 LB Americans causing such maladies as heart attacks from exertion, sweating, nearly empty stomachs for periods exceeding 20 minutes, and general discomfort of the shins and toes. Lawsuits and insurance premiums will force snow-sports resorts to change:

Resorts will be located in Arizona, Florida and Southern California. Skiing per se will be done with virtual reality headgear, by people gliding over rolling astro-turf ramps. Skiers will be required to wear a weight-supporting body harness to catch them in the event that the VR skiing equipment fails them (the concept of operator error or personal responsibility will have long since died). However, the Chevy Valdez will be the highest selling SUV for theses adventurous soles.

Only small communities of back-country enthusiasts will make clandestine trips to sample the snowy goods. These freaks will live in isolation, regarded as commie-pinko-bedwetting hippies who actually breath unperfumed, unfiltered outdoor air and risk exposure to the sun or developing body-odor from breaking a sweat.

The US Forest Service, considering research into the correlation between the price of lift tickets and the amount of winter weight gain per capita in the U.S., nationalizes all lift-served areas on Forest Service land and operates them in partnership with the National Park Service, the President's Council on Physical Fitness, PSIA/AASI/NSP, and US Skiing. Lift ticket prices are subsidized by the U.S. Treasury and HMOs in the interest of managing the negative health impacts from the epidemic of obesity in this country.

The ski and now snowboarding industry has some seious marketing problems. There needs to be some serious strategic and marketing planning sessions with free "don't hold anything back" communications. if this doesn't happen, the battle continues for increasing ones market share of a shrinking market. That type of strategy leads eventually to ones demise.

The Last really creative thing the ski industry did, was the season pass of four people together buying 4 season passes for about $800.O0. So now the locals can afford to ski again!

As for the rest of us the present aiport hassels are intolerable, so what about getting on the governments back along with the airlines to get the proper technology in place to as to eliminate these long security checks. [ If UbL was a skier he never would have become an anal orific terrorist, he would have had his priorities straight!]

BTW don't you think one line should serve as a security check and check in ? Duhh How hard is that to think up.

Anyway, it is no vacation if you have to get to your flights 2-4 hours [ remember that's both ways, so now it adds up to 25-33% of a day of ones waking hours, or 50-100% of someones work day, what a way to spend a vacation !!! ] ahead of time in order to clear security. It is time to get the technology up and running to get the job done. That SOB UbL has changed my life. I not going out west until they do a better job at the airports both in terms of really effective security and doing it in an efficient and in a reasonable time frame !!!!

A new mountain rises up in Ireland, and has powder on one side, moguls on another, and pistes on a third with perfectly spaced trees linking them.
Snow cannons ensure the pistes are in perfect condition 365 days a year, and they have lights for night skiing.
The powder and mogul areas are positioned such that they get a fresh dump every night (or when I want)

I am placed in charge of issuing lift tickets, and recruiting all staff (mainly from one of Jimmy P's magazines)

so what they used skiing in the WWII ?
they used walking, running, parashuting, even fencing and lots of boxing!
Does this mean these sports (including skiing) are NOT peace creators like any sporting event?

If the competition involves snowboards, twin tips, or aerials, the winners are frequently black, hispanic, or Asian. Mountain Hi, the nation's #1 gateway to the sport of snowboarding for urban youth, is sponsored by a consortium of manufacturers and area operators as an R&D center for the sport. Snow sports participation among these urban populations increases from negligible in 2000 to 20% of the total in the U.S. in 2005/6.